With all the power outages this winter I'm thinking about options for a generator. One to run the TV and a light is nice but I'd want to run in shifts the refrigerator, submersible well pump, water heater, and I need some form of heat. I think a 2ton heatpump would be out of question but how about some kind of electric space heater -- running a keroscene heater all night feels risky to me. My question is how big a generator can a cub handle? I'd belt drive it off the pto shaft. Humm -- I don't think I'd want to run the cub all night either. Well, given that I can go several years before needing it and nobody has time to keep a seldom used generator running right I fear a dedicated generator would be expensive and not start when needed. With the cub I know it'd run. But then belt driven generators say how many HP they require but I expect they are in small engine terms not the realistic pto HP of 7 or 8 for a cub. Well what do you all think.

I bought a 7000 watt electric start generator, wired it up thru a xfer switch, loaded it with gas. My power hasn't even flickered. Guess it's like washing the car, makes it rain. The generator stops power problems.

By the way, if you use the Cub to power the generator, and it normally snows when power goes out........How you gonna play in the snow?

Chris, find a used Miller welder with a onan motor.
they are pricey But...you can kill two birds and they will do what you are asking...if you cant find a miller get an old 20hp hobart...both of these items are hard to part with..but worth the quest.

I would strongly recommend against using your Cub to power a generator for anything other than short term use. I have a couple of thousand Watt unit that I run off a V belt from the PTO for use when I am out back and need some juice to run a drill or saw. One problem is the Cub governor is not going to give you the response you need to keep the voltage constant which can kill electrical equipment. Also you have the wear and tear on the Cub running it flat out for hours at a time. You are much better off buying one of the units described in the earlier E mails that are designed to provide emergency power for long periods of time.